Utensils, Hardware and Lumber by Mail

Published: March 30, 1989

For putterers as well as devotees of design, three new catalogues offer impressive collections of mail-order products for the home.

Swedish Rehab, an American company whose products are made in Sweden, sells utensils and other objects designed for people with limited use of their hands. People with arthritis often find it painful to bend their wrists or fingers, so many Swedish Rehab utensils are designed to avoid such movements. The kitchen knives, for example, have handles that allow the wrist to stay straight during cutting. Each knife costs about $20.

Two popular products are the cap screw and the cap turner, which make opening screw-on lids easier, said Rolf Borneby, vice president of sales and marketing for the Lumex Divison of Lumex Inc., which owns Swedish Rehab. The cap screw costs $13.50 and the cap turner $15.40. For a Swedish Rehab catalogue and price list, call 800-645-5272. Kemp & George, a new mail-order company in Boston, sells many products for the home, from lighting fixtures to cabinet hardware. Giles Kemp, the executive vice president of Kemp & George, said the catalogue contains many items, like decorative moldings, that are often hard to find or unavailable.

''Molding is either a lost art or a very expensive one,'' Mr. Kemp said. The Kemp & George moldings, which are manufactured in Belgium, are made of polyurethane, a material that is solid enough to look like plaster and must be cut with a saw. The moldings come with instructions and cost from $14 to $46 for each 6 1/2-foot piece. To order a Kemp & George catalogue, call 800-343-4012. The Woodworkers' Store has been selling lumber and woodworking supplies from a warehouse in Rogers, Minn., for 34 years, said Terry Zoller, a customer service representative.

Woodworkers' veneers are especially popular. These are thin pieces of fine wood used to cover particle board or any other surface. Exotic veneers from Central and South America are sold by the square foot.